People want to do what makes them feel good and – perhaps more importantly – makes them look righteous in the eyes of others. Going organic and avoiding straws accomplishes that moral grandstanding, and companies are happy to oblige in order to make a buck. And, in the process, the companies also look good. It's a win-win for everyone, except Mother Earth.
Chemicals & Chemistry
Glyphosate, presently the world's most hated chemical, has been blamed for just about every ailment in humans and animals. Now a group in Hawaii is claiming that the herbicide is harming bees by altering their gut biome. Is there anything to it?
Making smart choices requires correct information. But it's not so easy telling facts from fiction, especially since there's a whole lot of money being made by those spreading misinformation. What's more dangerous, sun or sunscreen? Pot. or the plastic container it's stored in? Want to know how to tell? Read this.
The deliberate and malicious ignorance of the anti-GMO movement must be resoundingly defeated, with its lies tossed into the dustbin of history.
Some chemicals are nasty. Some are plain evil. Then, there's methyl fluorosulfonate, aka "Magic Methyl." It's so bad that you have to be out of your mind to use it. Unless you want to dissolve a chicken breast.
The anti-chemical movement just keeps chugging along. This time it's the media webiste Vox in the caboose. Chemicals in plastics. Blah blah blah. But at least they cite GQ, that well-respected science magazine!
Unlike human skin or electronic gadgets, aging makes red wine better. While the reasons are complex, they all boil down to chemistry.
Plastic waste is a worldwide environmental problem. So is the generation of clean energy. Two British groups have come up with a method that, at least in the lab, can degrade plastic and simultaneously generate hydrogen. Light is used as an inexpensive catalyst. That's some very interesting chemistry.
Formaldehyde is one of the most demonized chemicals. Know-nothings try to terrify us about the 10 milligrams of the chemical you get from a packet of aspartame. But did you know that your body produces, uses, and eliminates 50,000 mg of the stuff every day? That's because every living cell in our body requires formaldehyde.
It turns out that tiny phytoplankton, which can cause massive "blooms," may actually affect our weather. As we will see, there's more to climate than just warming.
Like a broken clock that accidentally gets the time right, California has finally stumbled upon the correct approach to coffee. Sort of. After widespread mockery and condemnation, the Golden State has had an epiphany: Maybe coffee doesn't cause cancer. The FDA agrees.
The EPA is evaluating 10 chemicals under the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act. So we have created explanations for each, with recommendations when the science is clear.